Ratan Tata’s best men are looking beneath Air India’s iceberg

Tata Group’s best talent has been busy examining Air India’s operations for the past few months. The due diligence is so intense that some at Air India feel that Tata consultants have taken over its headquarters. While the group is ensuring that tiny details are scrutinized before it submits its bid, many are still wondering why it’s bidding at all.
It was a bright sunny day in the early 2000s when a Falcon business jet took off for a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Mumbai to Jamshedpur. When the plane was 15 minutes short of its destination, over Ranchi, the air traffic controller asked the pilots for mandatory flight information like its call sign, which the co-pilot readily